The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday announced the shortlist of 15 films that will compete for Best International Feature Film nominations at the 97th Academy Awards.
85 countries submitted feature films this awards season, but several frontrunners quickly emerged and easily made the shortlist, including the work of Jacques Audiard emilia perezcontenders representing France and Denmark girl holding needle Directed by directors Magnus von Horn and Mohammad Rasoulof the seed of the sacred fig, A feature film set in Iran, submitted by co-producer Germany.
Several favorites from the festival circuit made the cut. I’m still herethe Brazilian contender went to the Oscars on the recommendation of the Cannes Film Festival and won the Best Screenplay award. Director Walter Salles gets another Oscar nomination central station Fernanda Montenegro in the international category (then known as Best Foreign Language Film) I’m still herewas nominated for Best Actress for her starring role. cheeky irish rap comedy patellaIt won the Audience Award in the NEXT section of the Sundance Film Festival and swept the British Independent Film Awards, easily making it into the final 15. waveThe Czech time bomb historical thriller, winner of the Audience Award at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, won an Oscar.
But there are a few surprises on this year’s long list, and a few snubs.
Entry into Thailand, How to make millions before grandma diesAlthough it did not debut at major international film festivals, it was well-received in Asia and eventually grossed more than US$50 million at the global box office. Oscar voters are clearly interested in this feel-good comedy about a slacker who volunteers to care for his terminally ill grandmother in hopes of pocketing her inheritance when her voice cracks.
Another finalist, touchHailing from Iceland, “” has also disappeared from the festival circuit, but this decades-spanning melodrama shares some romantic DNA with director Baltasar Kormákur’s 2000 breakthrough, 101 Rykavikreleased in limited release in the U.S. this summer via Focus Features, has caused a stir. Kormákur as director 2 guns, Everest and Contrabandis a familiar face stateside, which doesn’t hurt.
Some of the festival’s most popular shows didn’t make the cut. Crime drama starring Astrid Landero and Fernanda Valadez dirtyMexico’s film won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival but was snubbed by the Oscars. Austrian competitor, Devil’s Batha horrific event in history good night mom Directors Veronica Franz and Severin Fiala, who have won awards at the Berlin Film Festival and the European Film Awards, were excluded. and grand travel, Miguel Gomez won the best director award in Cannes for this black-and-white period/documentary mash-up, while another promising experiment from Portugal was overlooked.
Nonfiction and animated works often struggle to compete with traditional drama in this category. document That’s how it all started (Sweden), Behind the fog (Ecuador), and last person (Paraguay) was not shortlisted, Pakistan’s first animated feature film was shortlisted, glazierwas also ignored. However, several non-drama films were selected, including a Berlin Film Festival-winning documentary dahomey (Senegal), a drama film directed by Mati Diop Atlantic Nominated for an Oscar in 2019; and Gints Zilbalodis’ popular animated feature flowRepresenting Latvia on the International Feature Film Shortlist, it is also a strong contender for the Best Animated Feature Film nomination.
Chilean director Maite Alberdi earns Oscar nominations for last two documentaries of 2020 mole agent and 2023 eternal memorythis time she was ignored by the academy due to her costume drama. in her placefailed to enter the final top 15.
The Academy’s efforts to increase geographical diversity were less evident in this year’s shortlist, with traditional European powers continuing to dominate. 11 of the 15 shortlisted films are from Europe, and only two are from Asia – Palestine is participating Start from ground zero and How to make millions before grandma dies From Thailand—and from Diop dahomey The only African contender. Matthew Rankin’s common language“Canada’s Promise” is the only film that represents the Americas.
But European countries that submitted entries from outside the African continent made the cut. Although it was filmed in France, emilia perez Set in Mexico and filmed in Spanish. Persian is the only language spoken Sacred Fig Seedsrepresenting Germany, the film never left Tehran. SantoshFilm, directed by Anglo-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri and shot in India, is a rare British film to make the top 15.
Voting for the 97th Academy Awards begins at 9 a.m. Pacific Time on January 8 and will run until January 12 at 5 p.m. Starts at 9am and ends at 5pm.
The 15 films shortlisted for the 2025 Oscars for Best International Film (in alphabetical order by country) are:
Brazil, I’m still here
Canada, common language
Czech Republic, wave
Denmark, girl holding needle
France, emilia perez
Germany, Sacred Fig Seeds
Iceland, touch
Ireland, patella
Italy, red
Latvia, flow
Norway, armand
Palestine, Start from ground zero
Senegal, dahomey
Thailand, How to make millions before grandma dies
U.K, Santosh
